Maybe the Maple Leafs’ Ben Danford Bet Was Smarter Than It Looked

Not long ago, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Ben Danford 31st overall. At the time, it looked like one of those draft choices that required some explaining. The numbers didn't exactly scream first-round pick. Danford wasn't putting up huge offensive totals in junior, and several prominent draft rankings had him considerably lower than where Toronto selected him. The scouting report seemed fairly straightforward: good defensive defenceman, responsible, competitive, probably not much of an offensive player.

Has Danford turned into more of an offensive defenceman?

Except that hockey development has a funny way of making early labels look a little silly. What became interesting during the Toronto Marlies' Calder Cup playoff run wasn't that Danford suddenly turned into an offensive dynamo. He didn't. It was something subtler. He started looking comfortable with the puck. That's a pretty important distinction.

Danford wasn't trying to force offence. He wasn't jumping into every rush looking for a highlight. Instead, he seemed to understand something that good NHL defencemen eventually learn: sometimes the best offensive play begins with simply refusing to give the puck away. He slowed things down. He moved around forecheckers. He found passing lanes. When the ice was open, he took it. When a teammate was open, he found him.

Perhaps Danford will be a stronger blueliner than imagined.

And suddenly that old question about his offensive upside looked a little different. Maybe the Maple Leafs weren't drafting a defenceman who was going to score 15 goals a year. Maybe they were drafting a defenceman who could eventually help create 15 goals for somebody else.

That's where Danford becomes particularly interesting. There are offensive defencemen who create offence because they have an exceptional shot. Others do it because they're terrific skaters. And then there are the ones who make good decisions over and over again, moving the puck before trouble arrives and joining the play when the opportunity is there. That kind of defenceman can be extremely valuable.

Danford already shows the defensive foundation the Maple Leafs desire.

That's the part Toronto liked when it drafted him. The intriguing development is that his confidence with the puck seems to be catching up. And perhaps that's why his Marlies playoff experience matters more than his junior statistics. Junior hockey can tell you what a player did. Professional hockey can sometimes tell you what a player might become.

Danford didn't appear overwhelmed against professional players. He looked like he belonged. Then, as the playoffs progressed, he became more noticeable. That's the part I'd be watching now. Not whether Danford scores 40 points this season. Not whether he suddenly becomes the next Morgan Rielly. Those are probably the wrong benchmarks.

Watch what happens when he gets the puck. Does he make the first pass? Does he escape pressure? Does he recognize open ice? Does he turn a defensive recovery into an offensive opportunity?

Perhaps he will soon be the keystone to the Maple Leafs’ blue line.

If those things continue to improve, Toronto may have something much more valuable than the offensive numbers suggested when it drafted him. Maybe Danford's offensive game isn't missing.

Maybe it was simply hiding inside his defensive game. And that would make the Maple Leafs' decision to take him 31st overall look pretty smart indeed.